Ultraman Orb Episode 11 – Trouble! Mama’s Here! Review

Well it seems like this episode is going to be our last, as Maga Orochi has been revived! How will Orb be able to withstand its onslaught, and become victorious? Also why has Naomi’s mother finally decided to physically appear in the show; could it be she is tired of her daughter’s antics or that she found Naomi a proper suitor?! Find out in the summary and review below…

Summary:

An awkward session at the bathhouse leads to Gai becoming Naomi’s boyfriend, only to assist her with the issue of her visiting mother who seeks to find her a suitor. Naomi’s mother easily is becomes enticed by Gai at their lunch date, where Gai poses as a student lawyer only to discover Juggler arrived to ruin the date. Gai is shocked that Juggler survived, while Naomi’s mother is also taken by her daughter’s second suitor. Now, as Gai and Juggler attempt to “conduct business”, Naomi’s mother continues to interrupt them. Eventually Juggler is able to reveal, his plan was to obtain the Belial card to defeat Gai, as they try to enjoy lunch, however Tamayura’s ghost appears as a giant near the building to warn him of Juggler’s true plan. Shortly afterwards Naomi’s mother makes Shibukawa assist her with gifts and convince Naomi to quit S.S.P. Yet, as she attempts to convince Naomi to quit, the team discovers the graves they discovered are also the resting grounds for Maga Orochi!

Gai arrives at the forest, only to discover Juggler will revive the Orochi on this day with the Belial card overpowering the Zoffy card that locked it away. Gai transforms into Ultraman Orb to fight the Great King Devil Beast Maga Orochi throughout Tokyo. The Orochi easily overpowers Orb being able to endure the Sperion Ray, and even catch the Orb Slugger Lance during the Trident Slash. Nothing seems to phase it, until Orb turns into Burnmite and unleashes a Stobium Dynamite attack upon it however the attack merely locks the creature in a molten crust shell briefly. Maga Orochi then hits Orb with another assault of its beam attacks, finally defeating him. Naomi rushes into the remains of the Forbidden Forest believe Gai is there, while Juggler claims Gai’s Ultra Fusion Cards, and Orochi lays siege to the city…

My Thoughts:

The only thing that comes to mind at this specific moment is… HOLY SHIT! This episode was amazing, and was not entirely perfect however I am probably being uber lenient towards it because it highly entertained me. Opening the episode with very comedic and awkward moments helped to perfectly lead into the darker plot the story was going to shift towards. The lunch date where Juggler reveals he survived was one of the highest points in the series thus far, comedic wise, due to Naomi’s mother gushing over them, and actually throwing off their the serious hate for one another to the extent that the two had to recall what they were talking about when they lost their place in the conversation. Following the entire lunch date, everything gets serious whether it is the issues between Naomi and her mother, or the revival of the Orochi the plot drastically changes. I found the issue with the mother to be loosely a basic trope for most Tokusatsu series, and did not entirely hate the concept especially since we learn Naomi’s family is seemingly financially stable having a brewery; however she seemingly chooses to live life by her own accords, and enjoys her decision creating S.S.P. The story does not seem entirely resolved though in this first part, but I expect it to be wrapped up in the next part. I also hope Naomi’s mother will have her full name revealed too, as I do not recall if she received a proper introduction.

Now, as for the episode’s darker tone I found it interesting that Naomi’s loose issues with mother will come to pass so early and actually thought the this storyline would be used towards the debut of Orb’s Origin Form or within the finale. See that this confrontation is appearing early may lead into my beliefs that from here on out things are going to get more serious, and possibly get even darker, to help give added screen time to flush out more of the back stories for Gai and Juggler. I honestly want to know what really occurred as it the series may have hinted that the two were friends, but on opposite sides of the spectrum and eventually both swapped sides, or were chose by the sides they are aligned with. Don Nostra’s knowledge of the two attempted to either clear up some of their unknown history, or just made things even cloudier. Yet, as for the Juggler managing to review Orochi and the battle that ensued, it was an easy give away that Orb would be defeated in this episode due to all the hype surrounding this kaiju. Just man did the stunt pull out all the stops to continue the hype, as Orochi practically “no sold” any of Orb’s signature attacks. I personally loved how it endured Sperion Ray, and how it survived the Stobium Dynamite, but found the method in stopping the Trident Slash too humane making it seem like a cheap visual. Now, had it been either caught by the tail or received cuts marks that quickly regenerated, then that would have been entirely cooler. Another thing I and the Ultra community sort of enjoy about Orochi is its design, as well as how it gives us the vibe that it was loosely inspired by Destoroyah.

Yet, before I go into concluding this review there were a few things bad about the episode, however I already mentioned Naomi’s mother’s name as one of them but it was not entirely the first I discovered. The first issue is when all members are eating lunch and Juggler elaborately has out the King Demon Beast Cards during his discussion with Gai, where it should have finally clued in Naomi that Gai was Orb. The next issue was how the series attempts to tie in all the events of the past episodes together by having the Forbidden Forest the resting grounds for the Orochi, as well as the location of the Zoffy card which Gai will obtain. I found the tie in hugely forced into the overall series, whereas had there been more hints to it sooner it would have all seemingly paid off as great storytelling. Luckily though, being a fan of Toku already has me understanding not all great episodes or arcs will be written perfectly, so be ready to deal with the shoe-ins and the unexplained at the drop of a hat! What I am saying these few issues I had probably will not affect others, and it truly did not ruin my overall judgment which explains why I am placing in the top tier of the series’ episodes! Now, what I want to see in the next episode another lengthy fight, which attempts to make Thunder Breaster a pseudo equal to Orochi when it comes to power before it is eventually defeated. A part of me loosely hopes that this will be a three part arc, but I highly doubt it.